2015 AMERICAN RED CROSS DESIGNERS’ SHOW HOUSE A WISH COME TRUE
Birthday Cake Castle chosen for 39th benefit event
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) The magnificent and historic Mediterranean-style home entitled “La Florentia” was a wish come true for the American Red Cross when it searched for a host home for the 2015 Designers’ Show House. Nicknamed the Birthday Cake Castle, the home was the first historic estate in the Lake Worth registry.
The 39th Designers’ Show House benefit event for the American Red Cross is scheduled to open to the public on Thursday, March 5, 2015 and run through Saturday, April 4, 2015, Mondays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. The month-long event kicks off with a preview party on Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Highlighted by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and a first peek at the make-over, the party offers an exclusive opportunity to rub elbows with the designers and ask questions about their rooms.
The 7,000+ square-foot home was recently sold for the first time in nearly two decades to Scott Levine. The home was originally built by Addison Mizner’s protégé Sherman Childs in 1925. It received its “Birthday Cake Castle” moniker when past owner Upton Close gave the home to his wife, Margaret Fretter Nye, as a birthday present in 1954. It has numerous cake-like qualities including two birthday candle-like pillars on either side of the grand entrance, thick plaster interior swirls made to resemble icing on a cake, and a birthday cake stained glass window.
More than 20 renowned interior and exterior designers will make their mark on the Lake Worth waterfront home, located directly next to Bryant Park. Some unique features of the home include an octagonal turret, 52 windows, an impressive grand front stairway, stained glass windows, carved wood and silver inlaid doors, and 135 feet of waterfront on the Intracoastal Waterway.
“Last year over 4,000 people attended this event, making it the best attendance to date,” said Bill Kopp, one of the General Chairmen for this year’s Designers’ Show House. “Every year people look forward to stepping into beautiful homes that have been transformed by renowned interior and exterior designers. I am thrilled at being a part of this incredible event again as it raises critical funds for the American Red Cross.”
In addition to Kopp, Designers’ Show House General Chairmen include Stephen Mooney and Mary Monell Masri; Boutique Chairmen Susan Angert and Frank Maguire; and Landscape Chairman Keith Williams. Alexa Hampton, renowned New York interior designer, will be the 2015 Honorary Chair.
Selected designers for 2015 include:
- Joseph Cortes and Kevin Marnell, HomeLife Interiors, West Palm Beach – New Master Bathroom
- Lisa Erdmann, Rhonda Grammer and Eden Tepper, Lisa Erdmann & Associates, Palm Beach – Living Room
- Piper Gonzalez, Piper Gonzalez Designs, Royal Palm Beach – Family Room
- Melissa and Noe Guerra, NXG Studio, North Palm Beach – Kitchen
- Todd Hase, West Palm Beach – Indoor Loggia
- Timothy Johnson and Fernando Wong, Fernando Wong Outdoor Living, Palm Beach – Partial Landscape
- Karen Kirk and Karen Brams, Island Living & Patio, West Palm Beach – Patios
- Jeff Lincoln, Jeff Lincoln Interiors, New York – Dining Room
- Frank Maguire, Quigley Maguire Collections, Delray Beach – Cigar Room
- Mimi Masri, MMDesigns LLC, West Palm Beach – New Master Bedroom
- Stephen Mooney, Stephen Mooney Interiors, Palm Beach – Study
- Andrew Mormile and Nicholas Skidmore, Forte Interiors Design Build, Jupiter – Old Master Bathroom
- Efua Ramdeen and Susan Wyatt, Frocktail Décor & Design LLC, Boca Raton – Turret
- Scott Robertson, Scott Robertson Interiors, Lake Worth – Waterview Guest Suite
- Jill Shevlin, Jill Shevlin Design, Vero Beach – Guest Bedroom
- Melody Smith, Melody Smith Interiors, West Palm Beach – Powder Room
- William Bainbridge Steele, William Bainbridge Steele Design, Vero Beach – Old Master Bedroom
- Veronica Volani-Inza, Veronica Volani-Inza Interior Design, West Palm Beach – Foyer and Staircase
- Keith Williams, Nievera Williams Designs, Palm Beach – Partial Landscape
Sponsors to date include ADT Home Security, Evelyn & Arthur, Muses & Visionaries magazine, Panera and Stanley Steemer.
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to individuals impacted by disasters both large and small; supplies more than 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.
Tickets to the Preview Party are $200 per person. General admission is $35 per person at the door. In addition to tours of the home, guests may also shop an on-site boutique. Special arrangements can also be made to book private events in the home. For more information or to schedule a group visit, please visit www.redcross.org/pbtc or contact Analisa Muti at 561-650-9133 or analisa.muti@redcross.org.